A Kingly Moment

While in Maine it's hard not to think of the master storyteller, Stephen King. If you've read any of his books, you know how many of his stories are set in his native state. Of course, considering how large the state is I doubted I'd run into him. Still, I must admit I thought of him once or twice.

I know his wife is also a writer, but I have to admit I hadn't given her much thought until I happened to stumble across her at a book signing in Sherman's Bookstore in Bar Harbor. Now I don't usually buy hardcover books because I find them unweildy and more than a tad bit pricey, but temptation got the better of me for once. I picked up a copy of Candles Burning and paid for it before approaching the author for a signature. Not only did she sign the book, she even agreed to a picture! Very gracious.

On the way home I finally got a chance to begin reading the book, which is a collaboration of sorts between Tabitha King and the late Michael McDowell. It's a ghost story but not in the traditional sense. I would consider it more of a story about a girl with a strange psychic ability. In all honesty it was a bit slow now and again. I'm not sure if this was because of the beyond-the-grave collaboration or if it's a style both authors normally fall into. As I've never picked up a Tabitha King book I just don't know.

Even if the book doesn't make my favorite list, it stays on the keeper shelf just because it was personalized by Stephen King's wife while I was on vacation in Maine.